Reclaiming Narrative for Public Theology (SUNY series, Religion and American Public Life)

This book furthers the development of American public theology by arguing for the importance of narrative to a theological interpretation of the nation’s social and political life. In contrast to both sectarian theologies that oppose a diverse public life and liberal theologies that have lost their distinctiveness, narrative public theology seeks an engaged yet critical role consistent with the separation of church and state and respectful of the multireligious character of the United States. Mary Doak argues for a public theology that focuses on the narrative imagination through which we envision our current circumstances and our hopes for the future. This theology sees both our national stories and our religious ones as resources that can contribute to a public and pluralistic conversation about the direction of society. Doak highlights arguments from Paul Ricoeur, Johann Baptist Metz, William Dean, Stanley Hauerwas, Franklin Gamwell, and Ronald Thiemann that can both contribute to and challenge a narrative public theology. She also proposes a model of public theology using narratives from Abraham Lincoln, Virgil Elizondo, and Delores Williams. RECLAIMING NARRATIVE FOR PUBLIC THEOLOGY 2 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 12 1. Introduction: The Need for a Narrative Public Theology 14 Narrative as a Resource for Historicizing Theology 14 The Public Theology Project 18 Why Call It Public Theology? 20 Achievements in Public Theology Thus Far 25 The Public Character of Narrative 32 How This Argument Will Proceed 36 2. Public Theology in a Pluralistic Society 40 Arendt’s Defense of a Pluralistic Public Life 44 Public Life as Resistance to Totalitarianism 44 The Nature of Public Life and Action 48 Is Christianity Inherently Antipublic? 51 Conclusion 60 Public Theology without Establishment of Religion 61 The Complex Meaning of Religious Freedom 61 Case #1: The Ten Commandments 66 Religious Morality and the Limits of Legislation 69 Case #2: Lawrence v. Texas and the Legislation of Morality 73 Religious Freedom and Public Debate 76 Public Theology Amid Diversity 80 3. E Pluribus Unum? National Narratives and the Recovery of Public Life 84 Introduction: Why Nations and Why Narratives? 84 A Defense of Public Life on the National Level 90 Arguments Against the Nation-State 90 A Qualified Defense of the Nation-State 92 National Identity 98 Historical Narratives and the Nation-State 99 National Narratives and the Repression of the Other 99 Ricoeur’s Theory of Narrative 102 THE STRUCTURE OF NARRATIVE 102 THE NARRATIVE STRUCTURE OF HISTORICAL UNDERSTANDING 103 IDENTITY AND PURPOSE AS CONCEPTUALIZED THROUGH HISTORICAL AND FICTIONAL NARRATIVES 107 BIFURCATED HISTORIES OR A COMMON NARRATIVE? 113 Conclusion 117 4. Toward a Narrative Public Theology 120 Narrative in a Practical Fundamental Theology: J. B. Metz 123 A Narrative, Practical Approach to Fundamental Theology 123 Human Freedom in History 128 Theology and the Critique of Narratives 132 Metz’s Contributions to Public Theology 135 North American Narrative Theologians: Stanley Hauerwas and Ronald Thiemann 139 A Narrative Theological Ethics: Stanley Hauerwas 139 NARRATIVE AS THE BASIS OF COMMUNAL IDENTITY 139 THE CHRISTIAN TASK IN HISTORY 144 THE PUBLIC MISSION OF THE CHURCH: OPPOSITION OR ENGAGEMENT? 148 THE CHRISTIAN NARRATIVE AND PUBLIC DISCOURSE: SECTARIAN OR PUBLIC CHRISTIANITY? 153 HAUERWAS’S CONTRIBUTIONS AND CHALLENGES TO A NARRATIVE PUBLIC THEOLOGY 156 A Public Narrative Theology: Ronald Thiemann 158 THIEMANN’S ARGUMENT FOR A PUBLIC THEOLOGY 158 WHY NARRATIVE IN THIS PUBLIC THEOLOGY? 160 THIEMANN’S PROPOSAL FOR A THEOLOGICAL METHOD 163 THICK DESCRIPTIONS AND PUBLIC DEBATE 166 Oppositional or Publicly Engaged Narrative Theology? A Comparison of Hauerwas and Thiemann 171 Conclusion: Towards a Narrative Public Theology 172 The Importance of Narrative in Christian Theology 172 A Double Narrative Construction for Public Theology 176 Narrative and Public Debate 179 5. Lincoln, Elizondo, and Williams as Narrative Public Theologians 186 The Argument for a Narrative Public Theology Summarized 186 Abraham Lincoln: Narrating Judgment 190 The Narrative Structure in the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural Address 190 Public Theology or Civil Religion? 195 Lincoln’s Contributions to a Narrative Public Theology 197 Virgil Elizondo: Narrating Mestizaje 202 Three Levels of Narrative 202 Elizondo’s Contributions to a Narrative Public Theology 207 Delores Williams: Narrating Resistance 210 Narrating a Womanist Theology 210 Williams’s Contributions to a Narrative Public Theology 215 Conclusion 218 Notes 220 Chapter 1 220 Chapter 2 225 Chapter 3 230 Chapter 4 235 Chapter 5 246 Index 252 A 252 B 252 C 252 D 253 E 253 F 253 G 254 H 254 I 254 J 255 K 255 L 255 M 255 N 256 O 256 P 256 R 257 S 257 T 258 U 258 V 258 W 258 Y 258